Proposal calls for west Lodi subdivision

LODI - A 331-home subdivision is being planned in west Lodi just south of a proposed Walmart Supercenter, city officials said.

Keith Reid

LODI - A 331-home subdivision is being planned in west Lodi just south of a proposed Walmart Supercenter, city officials said.

Housing development company Bennett Homes has filed initial planning paperwork that outlines a 74-acre subdivision on Van Ruiten Ranch at Lower Sacramento Road and Century Boulevard.

Developer Dennis Bennett did not return multiple calls seeking further details on the project, but the plans call for:

» 87 medium-density homes; smaller single family homes built in a relatively tight space.

» 223 low-density homes; large lots for single-family homes.

» A 6.93-acre park.

» 0.43 acres of open space.

Lodi City Manager Rad Bartlam said the proposed development is a positive sign that the city's housing market is on an uptick. Home construction permits have been pulled at what has been described as "anemic" - single-digit - levels in recent years.

The Bennett proposal joins plans that are nearing the approval stage by FCB Homes to build as many as 100 homes a year as part of two long-planned west-side housing projects.

"There's more confidence in the market, and that there even is a market is a positive sign," Bartlam said, adding that he's not getting overly excited by the number of proposed houses because, "The number of houses and how fast they are built will be determined by the market. I don't foresee some big building boom."

Bartlam said the city has plenty of space within the City Council-mandated 2 percent growth cap to accommodate all of the proposed homes.

Building Industry of the Delta Executive Director John Beckman said the proposed housing projects will benefit the economy.

"The market has been dead in Lodi. There have been six or seven homes a year built there, and I think in Lodi 200 or 300 a year is what we should be seeing," he said. "If we get to a point where we're seeing Bennett build 100 and FCB building 100, you'll see the employment numbers go back up, disposable income will be up and there will be more shopping and spending. Everybody would be much happier."

Lodi Associate Planner Immanuel Bereket said the Bennett application is incomplete. A full development plan needs to be submitted, and some meetings for what the project entails are being planned. Bereket said it's normal for development plans to go through one or two rounds of corrections and additions before being submitted to the Planning Commission for approval.